20 Inconvenient Truths About Politics In America

1) Joseph Goebbels is often credited with saying, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe.” Not only was Goebbels right, his comments are at the core of the Democratic Party’s messaging strategy.

2) There’s a reason why being right isn’t enough in our political system. It’s because as a general rule in politics, emotions > logic, soundbites > longer, better arguments, negative ads > positive ads, liars > honest politicians, and wrong and easy > right and hard.

3) The race-neutral “people should be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin” model that white Americans have overwhelmingly accepted has been rejected by black and Hispanic Americans. Skin color matters to most black and Hispanic Americans and it matters a lot.

4) There is no practical way to balance the budget in the next decade without raising taxes and cutting defense, Social Security, and Medicare.

5) Neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party want to solve our problem with illegal aliens. Democrats want as many illegal aliens here as possible because they believe they will eventually be able to turn them into poor, dependent American citizens who will vote for them overwhelmingly. Republicans have corrupt allies in the business community who are willing to give the GOP millions in return for cheap illegal labor. Additionally, some Republicans believe that coddling illegals will bring Republicans more Hispanic votes, although that hasn’t been borne out by actual election results and it conflicts with the Democratic belief, which is likely correct, that they’ll be the ones who’d benefit from illegals becoming citizens.

6) You cannot follow what’s going on in D.C. just by listening to politicians talk. In fact, most Americans need a politically savvy translator to explain what’s really going on because there is so little resemblance between what politicians say and what they do.

7) In presidential elections, the most indecisive, least informed, least deserving voters end up deciding the winner because they’re the ones who are still undecided right before the election.

8) The vast majority of politicians in this country care much more about keeping their well-paying, prestigious jobs than they do about taking care of the country. Most of them would far rather back a popular proposal that’s terrible for America than do the right thing if it makes it more likely that they won’t be elected.

9) Except for the poorest Americans, everyone should have to pay in taxes what he gets back in government services — along with a little extra to cover the poor. The fact that 47% of Americans aren’t being asked to pay income tax and most of the Americans that do pay think they’re being taxed far too much tells you that most people don’t think they’re getting their money’s worth in services.

10) In national elections, liberal politicians usually promise to be moderates and later turn out to be lying if they’re elected. On the other hand, Republicans usually promise to be conservatives and then break their promises to move to the middle.

11) Because of gerrymandering and the partisan lean of states, a majority of politicians in Congress don’t ever have to worry about being beaten by anyone from the opposing party. Because of this, as long as they don’t anger any powerful special interest groups from their party that could fund a primary against them, they might as well have a lifetime appointment to Congress.

12) If you don’t vote, your opinion is so meaningless that there’s no real point to even asking what you think.

13) America’s debt crisis along with the rapidly escalating cost of popular programs like Social Security and Medicare practically guarantees that America’s military is going to become considerably weaker in the coming decades.

14) The majority of politicians aren’t going to appreciate the work you do for them, your small contribution, the signs you put up, or your help in getting them reelected. They will, however, pay a great deal of attention to you after they’re elected if you provide them with a lot of money.

15) Americans claim to want politicians who are honest with them. However, in practice most Americans vote for politicians who tell them what they want to hear while calling it honesty.

16) This country is engaged in an unsustainable level of deficit spending. Yet we can’t raise taxes on the rich to make a big dent in it, both parties claim to oppose middle class tax cuts, and making spending cuts is unpopular. So it’s a lose/lose/lose/lose situation.

17) Politicians from both parties have proven that they can work together in a quick, bipartisan manner. Unfortunately, it only seems to happen when they’re wasting extraordinary amounts of taxpayer money or when they’re passing far-reaching, poorly-thought-out legislation in response to a crisis.

18) In the political sphere, most of the people who claim to be “victims” haven’t been harmed. To the contrary, they’re ecstatic about being “victims” because it gives them an opportunity to bask in public attention as the pretend-to-be aggrieved.

20) A majority of Americans have only the most rudimentary understanding of economics, history, budgeting, the way our system of government works, and the hottest political issues of the moment. That being said, these voters still often catch on when politicians are lying to them because the pols talk to them as if they know absolutely nothing instead of a little something about what’s going on.

19) A majority of Americans have only the most rudimentary understanding of economics, history, budgeting, the way our system of government works, and the hottest political issues of the moment. That being said, these voters still often catch on when politicians are lying to them because the pols talk to them as if they know absolutely nothing instead of a little something about what’s going on.

20) There’s a simple reason a lot of politicians aren’t nearly as concerned about the country going bankrupt as ordinary Americans: They have so much money and influence that they’ll have the option of leaving if things get really bad.

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John Hawkins's book 101 Things All Young Adults Should Know is filled with lessons that newly minted adults need in order to get the most out of life. Gleaned from a lifetime of trial, error, and writing it down, Hawkins provides advice everyone can benefit from in short, digestible chapters.